Cookies & Cream Cheesecakes

Last month these cookies & cream cheesecakes were selected by Nina of Nina’s Cupcakes for the Martha Stewart Cupcakes Club. The group posts on the 15th of each month so I’m only, oh 3 weeks or so late with this one I actually made them on time, but they never made it onto the blog. I liked them way too much though to let the photos linger in my “pending” folder without a proper post!

I honestly don’t make cheesecake often because a full-size cheesecake is uber rich and so large it really needs to be shared with a lot of people. Plus, between the potential for cracking and for water to seep into the crust of those baked in water baths, I find them a bit high maintenance. That’s why I think these cupcakes are the perfect solution! Easy to make and even easier to share, you couldn’t ask for more. You start by placing whole Oreos in the bottom of lined cupcake tins to act as the crust for your mini cheesecakes. The cheesecake mixture consists of cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, salt and sour cream – pretty standard cheesecake ingredients. Before the batter is poured into the cupcake tins, additional chopped Oreos are added to the mix. The cheesecakes are baked at a fairly low temperature (275 F) for just over 20 minutes until the filling is set.

I know cheesecake is the ultimate dessert for a lot of people, but it’s never been my first choice when presented with a menu full of delicious treats. That’s why I was so surprised when I sampled one of these cupcakes and absolutely loved it! The combination of the creamy filling and the Oreo bits scattered throughout was delicious and the whole Oreo cookie on the bottom was the perfect crust. I was powerless to resist so I wound up giving most of the cupcakes away to my mom, who also raved about them. My only minor complaint about the cupcakes? I found that the Oreo on the bottom got a bit soggy after a few days in the fridge.

Thanks Nina for choosing this terrific treat! We’ve been asked not to post recipes on our blog in this group, but if you’d like to give the cupcakes a try and don’t own Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book, I dug up a link here.

I have you beat. Pending photos here too! (yours are much better though)! I’m so behind on so many things – but this makes me want to get these creations up. These were by far the easiest cupcakes – and great fun to make! Agreed – no water bath = my cheesecake of choice! Beautiful cupcakes!

Thought I’d leave everyone a tip that I actually came up with and had featured in the Cook’s Illustrated magazine a couple years ago! Take one of those large oven baking plastic like bags that you would use to roast a turkey. Set your cheesecake pan into that bag and draw it up around the sides of the pan, then set into your hot water. There’s no way the water will seep into your cake, and it’s oven safe.